Lawnswood Cemetery Sightings

During a sunny interval at Lawnswood Cemetery we spotted this Peacock basking graveside, I guess the stone retains some heat as they often perch on the stonework.

A Jay, a bird often seen at the Cemetery, seemed unperturbed by our presence as we stood still to watch it hop from stone to stone for a good few minutes.

Whilst watching the Jay, a Nuthatch flew onto a nearby tree and proceeded to check out gaps in the tree trunk. We watched it remove leaves lodged in the nooks and crannies presumably searching for a tasty snack. Here you can see it tossing aside a leaf removed from the split in the trunk.

Clematis montana

The current low temperatures have halted the flowering of the Clematis montana in our back garden. For the past couple of weeks the flower buds have been increasing in number and I thought that yesterday's sunny spell might have done the trick but no such luck.

The flowerbuds remind me of Audrey II from the Little Shop of Horrors.

"Feed me Seymour, feed me now!" Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Adel Churchyard Orange Tip

At St John the Baptist Churchyard in Adel we spotted two male Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) on the go, occasionally resting to nectar on the purple flowers of Honesty (Lunaria rediviva). Whilst watching one at rest, the second male flashed into view at the top of the frame. This is the nearest Ive got to photographing an Orange Tip this year.

The colours of the Churchyard are constantly changing, Crocuses provided the first colour of the year, then Daffodils were suceeded by Bluebells, Forget-me-nots, Wild Garlic, and irregular patches of purple flowering Honesty standing above about the surrounding vegetation on tall thin stems. 

Here you can see the green seed pods beginning to form where the flowers have fallen, these will develop into the translucent round papery seedheads commonly found in flower arrangements.

There are usually a lot more Orange Tips around in Adel Churchyard at this time of year, a result of the poor weather I'm guessing. 

This Treecreeper picked its way up and around the tree trunk in front of the church, also spotted, Robin, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tail Tit, Chaffinch, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Magpie, Crow, Mistle Thrush, Wood Pigeon. 

Kirkstall Hill

With a gradual improvement in the weather over the past couple of days I wandered over to Kirkstall Hill. The fragrant blossoms of Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and the new leaves of  Common Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) stood out against the surrounding vegetation.

As the sun popped out from behind the clouds bees began to work their way around the emerging wildflowers.

The view from the path looking north.

St Stephens church steeple is visible through the clearing.

Clematis montana

Monday brought bright blue skies and sunshine whilst today defaulted back to cloud and drizzle. Little to report other than a sighting of a Red Kite being mobbed by a Crow over Kirsktall Lane at lunchtime. I don't have any pics from the last couple of days, so here's a recent sketch of a Clematis Montana cutting taken from an established plant in my garden.